St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-26
ALEX MCCLELLAN.
The Career of the Most Noted
DueIist in the Gulf States.

Inc. Oaf0er Oh Tie 1HOSt NOUGu
DueIist in the Gulf States.
Town Topics -~':
Mrs. Clement C. Clay, widow of the
noted Alabama senator captured with
JEFF Davis, was concerned with the most
famous duelist the South ever produced
in the person of Alexander Mcclellan
He was native, of Kentucky, who for
many years was prominent in politics
and society. He was an exquisite in
dress and manners, brilliant speaker
and writer of tremendous power, pos
sesSing the keenest wit and sarcasm.
His attacks. Oh the Van Buren, admins
tration gave him national celebrity.
He killead a great many men during
his career. As all instance of his dead
illness, for he always killed the man he
fought, may be mentioned his duel with
Gen. Allen, of Mississippi. He had
heard that Allen had made some slight
ing remark about him. After Allen
had accepted his challenge, Mcclellan
declared that he would shoot out the
tongue that made the remark. The
duel was fought at forty PAGES with RI
ties, and he literally cut Aliens tongue
out as he threatened.
One instance exhibits, his courage.
One day he rode up to an inn in little
Mississippi town. While he was dis
mounting a notorious bully and deSper-
ado of that country, who had killed
many men and was the terror of the re
gion, was on the inside with his revol-
yer cooked and a watch in his hand. He
had ordered the room cleared in five
minutes, and every man had gone. al
though all were fighting men. When
Mcclellan entered the bully faced him
and, with a big oath, informed him of
the facts and that there were only three
minutes left before he should kill who
ever remained. Mcclellan, without
moving a muscle or drawing a weapon,
produced his watch, glanced at it, and
+ said:
My name is Alexander Mcclellan /
give you ten seconds to get out of here
or you are dead man."
The fellow yelled out:
by thunder, colonel, one-half of that
time will dOp' and he was out in two
seconds.
Later on in his career he was haunted
by remorse. Man-killing had left its
pains. His light was never out in his
room at night. and men said he slept
not. When the Mexican war broke out
he told the Rev. Peter Donan, father of
the now only Col. Pat, that he was
weary with life; that he had never
found any one who could kill him, and
he was going to battle to seek death on
the field, as he did not want to commit
suicide.
He entered the service as a volunteer,
and from the first placed himself in the
front point of danger, commanding At
tentiOn for his absolute bravery. He
was promoted again and again until he
reacht d the head of a regiment, when he
was shot through the body Then he
returned home, saying he couldn't be
killed, and haZarded his fate in several
duelS thereafter. He grew more and
more eccentric, and thought his oppo-
nents abused his confidence by not kill
ing him. Then he met Mrs. Clay,a beau
tiful girl of her time.
She describes him as the most fasci-
mating man to women she ever met. pos
sesSing that Serpentine power over
women which historians and r0mancerS
attribute to Aaron Burr-the same
power that Matte Ould, of Virginia. had
over men. Mcclellan proposed marriage
to Mrs. Clay, but her friends Objected on
account of his excessive daeling propen-
sites and the fear that she would be I'M
happy with him. She asked him to wait
SIX months before replying, and during
the interval did not dare to meet him on
account of his power over her. In the
meanwhile she met Clement c. Clay,
and was satisfied that he was her des-
tiny. Shortly after the engagement was
announced she got note from McClel-
ian asking for an interview.
Being afraid of his spell, and that he
might kill her, she declined. 1t was
only few days later when Mcclellan
rode into the then little pine town of
Columbus, Miss. He was shown TO a
room at AN inn, the door Of which was
irregular, like those of ait such places.
He poured water OH the floor and OBJ
served which way the incline ran. Then
dressing himself with the greatest care
and exquisite neatness, he lay down
with his head inclined with the floor.
He placed one hand across the breast,
and with the ether the nTuzZle of his
favorite dueling pistol at the base of the
biain. where death is instantaneous. 2
He was found there dead, without a
stain of blood on his scrupuloasly clean,
perfectly arrayed person, having real
lied his superstition ;atlast-that find
ing no one else who could kill him, he
became q felo de Sc.